book

Towards Sustainable Road Transport

by Ronald M. Dell, Patrick T. Moseley, David J. Rand

June 2014

Intermediate to advanced

368 pages

14h 52m

English

Academic Press

Read now

Unlock full access

1.1. Bicycles and beyond1.2. Steam takes to the road1.3. The age of electricity1.4. The age of the motor vehicle – from dream to necessity1.5. Growth of the petroleum industry1.6. Development of roads1.7. Growth of the automotive sector

2.1. Challenges for new-generation road vehicles2.2. Demographics and vehicle ownership2.3. Petroleum production and consumption2.4. Conventional petroleum reserves2.5. Atmospheric pollution2.6. Fuel and vehicle efficiencies2.7. Emissions and climate change2.8. Electricity and hydrogen as energy carriers
3.1. The need for ‘unconventional fuels’3.2. Raw materials3.3. Motor fuels3.4. Summary
4.1. Early days of the motor industry4.2. Developments in vehicle body design4.3. Engines and transmissions4.4. Suspension, steering, brakes4.5. Exhaust systems and emissions4.6. Other key components4.7. Safety4.8. Accessories4.9. The future for internal-combustion-engined vehicles
5.1. Electricity to the rescue5.2. Stop–start and hybrid electric vehicles5.3. Electric vehicles with batteries charged from the mains5.4. Solar cars5.5. Benchmarks of progress towards cleaner and more efficient vehicles5.6. Road transport in transition
6.1. Why is electricity supply relevant to road transport?6.2. Electricity – a driving factor in the world economy6.3. Generation and distribution of electricity6.4. Electricity availability in selected countries: contemporary case studies6.5. Recharging electric vehicles6.6. De-regulation of electricity markets
7.1. Fundamentals of energy storage in batteries7.2. Key criteria for candidate batteries7.3. Battery duty in different road vehicles7.4. Lead–acid batteries7.5. Nickel–metal-hydride batteries7.6. Lithium-ion batteries7.7. Sodium–metal-halide batteries7.8. Characteristics of batteries used in hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles7.9. Supercapacitors7.10. The UltraBatteryTM7.11. Better batteries: future prospects
8.1. Why use hydrogen?8.2. Hydrogen as a fuel8.3. Present uses for hydrogen8.4. Hydrogen from fossil fuels and biomass8.5. Hydrogen from water8.6. Hydrogen distribution and storage8.7. Hydrogen utilization: fuel cells8.8. Hydrogen-fuelled road transport8.9. Present status and outlook for fuel cell vehicles
9.1. Over-arching issues9.2. Global climate change: extent and consequences9.3. Choice of vehicle technology9.4. Roads9.5. Choice of fuel: hydrocarbon, hydrogen or electricity9.6. The carrot and the stick: role of governments9.7. Possible futures

Overview

Increasing pressure on global reserves of petroleum at a time of growing demand for personal transport in developing countries, together with concerns over atmospheric pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, are leading to a requirement for more sustainable forms of road transport. Major improvements in the efficiency of all types of road vehicles are called for, along with the use of fuels derived from alternative sources, or entirely new fuels. Towards Sustainable Road Transport first describes the evolution of vehicle designs and propulsion technologies over the past two centuries, before looking forward to possible new forms of energy to substitute for petroleum. The book also discusses the political and socio-economic drivers for change, investigates barriers to their broad implementation, and outlines the state-of-the-art of candidate power sources, advanced vehicle design, and associated infrastructure. The comprehensive technical informationsupplied by an expert author team ensures that Towards Sustainable Road Transport will provide readers with a clear understanding of the ongoing progress in this field and the challenges still to be faced.

Drivers of technological change in road transport and the infrastructure requirements
Discussion of alternative fuels for internal combustion engines and fuel conversion technologies
Detailed exploration of current and emerging options for vehicle propulsion, with emphasis on hybrid/battery electric traction, hydrogen, and fuel cells
Comparative analysis of vehicle design requirements, primary power source efficiency, and energy storagesystems